The measure of the chaotic band is, ironically, how much order they inject into their basic pandemonium and how they inject it. Based on that measure, Spires of the Lunar Sphere is one of the more interesting bands operating in metal today. Their 2015 debut, Pangea Ultima, was a shocking experiment in what happens when you turn the dial on discord almost as far as it can go; it blended glitch electronics, metalcore, grind-like aggression and video game music into one challenging whole. One album is fine and all; it was certainly impressive and, perhaps even more surprisingly, highly enjoyable. But the true test is whether Spires of the Lunar Sphere could do it again (and again), proving that they actually had control over the chaos and that their first effort wasn’t a fluke. Well, was it?

To understand what Fire! Orchestra is, we have to first know whence it came. And that would be the Fire! trio. Since 2009, Fire! is comprised of mastermind, saxophonist, and keyboardist Mats Gustafsson (who is widely known as a great jazz musician, especially for his improvisational style), bassist Johan Berthling, and drummer Andreas Werliin, both of whom are also known in the Swedish jazz scene for their work in other bands. As of today, they have released three full-length albums on their own, as well as two collaborations – one with Oren Ambarchi (In the Mouth a Hand), and one with Jim O’Rourke (Unreleased?) – plus a couple of EPs. They gained further recognition by playing fresh, inspired and energetic avant-jazz, getting better with each subsequent album, culminating with their 2016 release, She Sleeps, She Sleeps. Back in 2012, they had the idea of expanding their formula with the addition of an orchestra. Now with nineteen musicians instead of three, there was much more space for experimentation and variety, although there was already a lot of both in their simpler format.

For Fans Of is a column that takes one very well-known and popular band that our writers and readers are fans of, and then our staff write about a small group of lesser-known bands that do similar things and who we think you all might like as well and give a listen to.…

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssss. Indeeeeeed. Listen up, you poopy poop heads, it’s time for another round of incessant gabbering and mindless swearing with Ziltoid The Omniscient. This week, Ziltoid takes on the deeply philosophical subject of ‘good vs evil’ in music alongside tracks from Carcass, Mutemath, UneXpect and ELO and, as always…

Yesterday, we took a listen at 10 bands that were incredibly influential to the genre of avant-garde metal. Today, we’re going to collect a sampling of more recent contributions to the art of music, picking tracks that have only been released since 2008. These are the bands that are pushing…

2011 was an absolutely absurd year for not only metal, but music in general. Such marvelous records from the best names in music. But no doubt that you know this, so lets not waste time, eh? 21. White Arms of Athena – Astrodrama The fact that an album that would’ve…

We’re running a little late on things today, but bear with us folks! So, Unexpect released an album this year that, whilst I caught it, I caught it at a fairly hectic time, and it received nowhere near the kind of attention it deserved – from me or from most…

Sweet steaming eruption of satan’s nipples, what the shitting shit is this? Unexpect. I almost have no words. My inclination is to just tell you to hit play and witness the sheer awesome power of these talented Canadian bastards, but then I wouldn’t be doing my job, would I? ………